Sperber reaches plea deal in hit-and-run case

GREEN BAY - A man facing a re-trial in a fatal hit-and-run crash agreed to a plea deal Monday.

Mark Sperber entered an Alford plea, which means he maintained his innocence but acknowledged there is enough evidence for a conviction. He will be sentenced Friday.

Sperber was convicted for Jan. 25, 2011, vehicle-vs.-wheelchair crash which killed John Kennedy. Sperber contended he thought he hit a trash can, not a person. An appeals court ruled that the jury wasn't properly instructed on what Sperber knew of the crash at the time it happened, and ordered a new trial.

But instead of jury selection Monday, a plea deal was reached, according to defense attorney Brian Maloney. Sperber pleaded no contest to the same hit-and-run charge after prosecutors agreed not to ask for any more prison time than what he's already served, Maloney said.